The Best of 2017: A Retrospective

The end of each year is always a good time to look back at the year that was. In my case, it’s been mostly a blur. I traveled to 15 different countries plus Antarctica during 2017 and its only now that I’ve been able to relax and reflect on my travels. Here are my favorite moments of 2017, through the lens of my personal bias and tastes of course. My personal comments are in italics. I hope you enjoy!

“High Noon” Serengeti National Park, Tanzania (June 7, 2017).

RB: A wildlife image taken with a wide-angle lens! I love these types of photos: the minimalist feel, the billowing clouds against that blue sky, the interaction between the giraffes – I fell in love with this image the moment I pressed the shutter.

RB: I’ve been to Deadvlei many times and I was determined to come away with something new. I purposely stayed away from trees and compositions that had yielded good results in the past in order to see something different. As it turns out, Keeper is now one of my all-time favorite images from this area of Namibia.

RB: I spent a lot of time watching and observing before capturing any images from this location. I noticed the penguins leaning forward meant that they were attempting to jump. Sometimes they chickened out and didn’t but usually they did. When I saw this congregation and the body language, I was ready. I purposely left space to the left and the bottom for what i was hoping would be an airborne penguin. I got my wish. I also reminds me of another one of my favorite photos.

Patterns in the lava lake in the caldera of Mount Nyiragongo volcano, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo (February 7, 2015).

RB: The experience of spending the night on the rim of an active volcano was exhilarating. The 6-hour, uphill hike to get there was grueling. The glowing spider web patterns in the volcano’s lava lake were utterly mesmerizing.

RB: More than any other image of mine from Antarctica, this one captures the enormous scale of the coastal mountains, glaciers and ice of the continent. Handheld from a moving boat, I used a high ISO to ensure a sharp image.

“Fire on High” Sunrise on the high peaks of Torres del Paine National Park, Chile (November 15, 2017).

RB: Ridiculously dramatic sunrise over the Paine massif. This is an often-photographed scene but what I liked the most about this morning is the intense colors reflected in Nordenskjöld Lake. For more images from Torres del Paine and Patagonia, you can download my free e-book, Patagonia: Our Amazing Planet.

Thanks for taking a look at some of my photography highlights from 2017. Here’s to an awesome 2018! Here’s to Truth, Adventure, and Passion – Richard

Richard Bernabe is a professional photographer specializing in travel, wildlife, and nature as well as an author of books, magazine articles, and travel essays published world-wide. Richard is a global influencer is the fields of photography, travel, and wildlife conservation with more than one million followers on social media platforms. He leads several photography tours and workshops all over the world and is invited to speak to photography and conservation groups all across the globe. For more great information on new images, gear reviews, book projects, and photography workshops and tours,Sign Up For Our Newsletter.

Beautiful, Richard. I especially liked the laughing gorillas. We all need to do more laughing.
Have enjoyed the pictures you have shared all year. Thanks for sharing since I know I won’t get to most of those places.

Absolutely amazing! “Terra Incognita” is my fav with the ghost ice mountain in behind and above the cloud bank, followed by both the two monkeys & laughing gorilla – what incredible connection to our earth and fellow creatures – thanks you, Richard! 🙂

There are no words that would do any kind of justice to the absolute beauty of your photographs.. Thank you for showing me, and the world that there is still so much to see and still so much breathtaking beauty.